Team, Watch Thomas
by checkmate416
Summary: The Team is really bored one day, practically dying for a mission. Or anything to stave off boredom. Their wishes are answered in the form of a little boy who gave the League a lot of trouble, the Question's young charge. Red Arrow has been incorporated. Reviews, flames, anything is welcome. Cover pic isn't mine.
1. Chapter 1

MOUNT JUSTICE 9:00 EST

In lounge room of Mount Justice, the Team was having some downtime. But not by choice. They were all itching for a mission, a training session, any sort of excitement. Eventually they realized that simply waiting around would make time pass more slowly than if they did something.

After rooting around some drawers in the Cave, Wally found a pack of cards.

Minutes later, Artemis, Connor, Kaldur, M'Gann, Robin, and Wally were all seated around the wooden table in the center of the cave playing Crazy Eights.

Connor, Kaldur, and M'Gann had never played before, and so the rest taught them. They picked it up almost immediately, but currently the odds were not in Connor's favor...

It was Robin's turn, and he put down a Queen of Diamonds.

M'Gann put down a 2 of Diamonds.

Artemis, a Jack of Diamonds.

Aqualad, a Jack of Spades.

Wally, a 5 of Spades.

Then it was Connor's turn. But he could match neither the suit nor the number. His brow furrowed as he mentally analyzed his standing in the game. Everyone else had 3 or less cards, while he had 5.

And now he would have to draw another one. He knew that every drawn card from the deck brought him closer to defeat. He stared so hard at his hand that he half expected to burn a spade into one of the cards...

 _Recognized. 02 Batman. 07 Martian Manhunter. 13 Black Canary. A21 The Question. A22 Thomas._

The Team looked up expectantly from their hands at Batman and Black Canary, but soon their gazes shifted to the faceless man behind him whom they were already familiar, Justice League member the Question, as well as the child he carried in his arms. They were all taken aback at the sight of the child's face: gaunt, sad, and exhausted.

Puzzled, the teens forsook their game, (much to Connor's relief) and stood up.

"Finally a mission!" rejoiced Wally.

Batman began, "Thomas' rehabilitation is being carried out by the Question. As you know, he was the perpetrator of all the weaponry robbings from high-end corporations such as S.T.A.R. Labs and Wayne Tech in November."

Indeed, the Team knew. Although they had not been allowed to participate in the capture of the child, they had all tried to keep abreast of the developments in the Justice League's attempt to apprehend him. The child, who was a mere four years old, had extraordinary power and strategic prowess.

In all, it took three dozen League members to finally surround him and take him in. However, the Team was not sure of what happened between then and now.

Now the child was the Question's charge? How?

And why the Question, the known crackpot conspirator?

But no one wanted to ask such questions with three League members in the room, lest they were rebuked for prying into League matters.

Batman continued, "It is not yet clear the extent of Thomas' power. The League has important matters to attend to, and cannot keep track of Thomas today. Your mission is to keep him under control. You are allowed to take him no further than the field and beach just outside Mount Justice. In addition, you are to report on his behavior throughout the day."

The teens' jaws dropped. No one could believe that Batman was assigning them this joke of a mission.

"So basically, you want us to babysit?" said Robin, sounding incredulous.

"I can't believe this!" exclaimed Artemis, throwing her arms in the air.

"We are _not-_ " began Wally.

"Enough," boomed the Dark Knight. This is a mission, and it is just as worthy of your endeavor as any other mission. You _will_ carry it out. Black Canary and the Question will further brief you."

The Team silently fumed as Batman turned and exited the Cave via Zeta Tube, his cape flashing behind him.

 _02 Batman._

Black Canary and the Question stepped forward. "Ok, Thomas, meet the Team. Team, this is Thomas."

Normally, the Team would introduce themselves to newcomers to the Cave, but they were still steaming from Batman's seeming disrespect for them. But when they looked at the child still held in the arms of the faceless man, they simmered down slightly. They had heard... things about the child's past.

When they looked into his bloodshot eyes with dark circles underneath, those things were confirmed.

"He doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep," said Canary, looking rather upset and flustered. "He rarely talks, so try very hard not to push it. The League is still not certain about his demeanor, so don't try anything drastic because he obviously isn't a normal four year old..." She sighed.

The faceless man finally spoke: "He likes to play Houdini on unsuspecting people. Make sure to keep an eye out."

Then he lowered the child and placed him on his feet.

Before the Team could ask what exactly it meant to "play Houdini" was the child turned and buried his face into the Question's trenchcoat. The Question knelt and gave the child a hug, and the Team was shocked. They didn't know the Question was capable of displaying emotion, let alone of administering a hug.

Despite the look of frustration caused by feelings of lack of control dominating her face, Black Canary wished them luck on their mission, then turned and went through the Zeta tube.

 _13 Black Canary._

"Indeed, the best of luck to you," said the Question, and he followed after Black Canary. "Bye Thomas."

 _A21 The Question._

The Team shifted their gazes downward, one, two then three feet, to the the tiny child in front of them.

They noted his frame first. Although he was only four, and neither of them knew vey much about small children, it was clear that Thomas was underweight.

In fact, Thomas looked so fragile that they were almost afraid of breathing too hard, lest they accidentally knock him over.

He stood before them, scrawny arms at his sides, shoulders slumped. His clavicles were clearly visible above the low collar of his shirt, which had a vibrant picture of a rocket. The shiny red and blue constrasted starkly with his pale skin.

The Team was so fixated with Thomas' disturbing frame of a body that it was startled when a small _sniff_ pricked the silence of the cave.

Everyone's hearts sank when they glanced at his contorted little face and saw the tears making little salty wet snakes down the thin red cheeks.

Batman was mission was already as stressful as the others.


	2. Chapter 2: Runner

Chapter 2: Runner

The Team panicked.

This was a situation in which they couldn't use their powers, or even any of the combat maneuvers that Black Canary had taught them.

The teens looked at each other, uncomfortable and unsure of how to address the situation.

"Guys, what do we do?" asked Artemis. "How do you make a little kid stop crying?"

"I don't know!" said M'Gann in a panicked voice.

Connor crossed his arms, apathetic about the whole situtation.

They all watched the child in front of them, feeling powerless. "It's weird," Artemis said. "He's just sobbing, and not...screaming like a normal four year old."

It was true. The child was staring into the distance as tears streamed down his face. He was sobbing quietly, and his small chest heaved with each breath.

"Black Canary _did_ say he wasn't a normal four year old," said Kaldur. "From the looks of it, he has separation anxiety from the Question."

"Yeah, that's understandable," Robin chimed in. "The Question is all he really has now, and he just got dumped with us."

"Let's see what he thinks about the Wall-Man!" said Wally. He approached the child and knelt. Then he began to make silly faces, complete with sound effects. The rest of the Team watched the two skeptically.

This did not sit well with Thomas.

Just as Wally was inserting his fingers into his ears to make the ultimate silly face, Thomas suddenly jumped at the young speedster and used his shoulders to vault over him. He dashed passed the Team, behind the kitchen counter.

"He is quite athletic for a child," noted Kaldur.

"Please don't run away, Thomas!" called M'Gann. She flew over to just outside the kitchen. She didn't want to spook the child further by going in.

"Good going, Wall-Man, you scared him." said Artemis, rolling her eyes.

Wally's shoulders slumped. "Aw, man."

Robin looked up with a grin at the Team Leader, Kaldur. "So Captain, what's the plan for this mission?"

Kaldur's eyes widened. He didn't really have experience with such small children. "I-I'm not sure."

"Come on, Kaldur! You're the leader, you need a plan."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the tiny child was shaking as he crouched in front of the refrigerator. His nose ran and the top of his shirt was dotted with tear-stains.

"Connor, no! You'll make him even more upset!" M'Gann said in as quiet a voice as she could. Wally was holding Connor back from entering the kitchen.

"I'm just going to grab a bottle of water! I'll be in and out."

The blue-eyed teen broke free of Wally and headed for the fridge. He sighed when he saw that the child was blocking the fridge door.

As he reached for the handle, he made eye contact with the child at his feet. Connor couldn't stop staring at the bloodshot eyes. And, although he didn't know much about kids, he did know that there shouldn't be such dark circles under their eyes.

Connor suddenly felt very small. "Uh, excuse me."

Without warning, the child jumped up and ran past Connor, out of the kitchen. He bolted past the Team again and took refuge behind an armchair in the corner.

"Connor, now look what you did!" accused M'Gann.

"I didn't do anything! I just wanted some water," Connor pouted and crossed his muscular arms.

MOUNT JUSTICE 10:20 EST

It went on for fifteen minutes. Thomas dashing from place to place within the cave. Each time, the Team saw a larger extent of the child's acrobatic skills. Even Robin, the Boy Wonder, felt like he was watching an agile squirrel jumped from tree to tree.

The child jumped over the teens' heads and weaved between their legs. Though Wally was fast, to say the least, he could not get a grasp on the child, and that was how the Team witnessed his combat skills.

Every time the child was inches from being grabbed by the speedster, he would suddenly stop moving, raise his fist and stick out his scrawny little leg. Wally tripped and landed face first into Thomas' bony fist. In no time, Wally had a bloody nose and a black eye. And Wally fell for it every time.

Thomas left no place unentered. The Team found him in the showers, in the combat room, in M'Gann's room, and even under a couch cushion.

Kaldur was at a complete loss of what to do, how to organize his team. It was he who made desperate sprints after the child, in the hopes that the mission could still be a success. But after those fifteen minutes, he was both low on hope and oxygen.

He stopped to catch his breath.

"It would seem... Robin is right...We need to strategize in order to... more efficiently carry out the mission..." he said gasping.


	3. Chapter 3: Screamer

Chapter 3: Screamer

MOUNT JUSTICE 11:00 EST

"Thomas, if you calm down, I can make you cookies!" M'Gann pleaded.

"Black Canary said he doesn't eat!" Robin reminded her, as Thomas tried to bolt past him. The tot was probably starting to get tired, because Robin was able to grab him and pin him against his chest.

Kaldur, meanwhile, appeared to be having a mental breakdown over by the table where they were playing cards earlier. He stared at the earthen floor as though it had opened up and swallowed all his loved ones.

"I got him!" exclaimed Robin. The rest of the Team, excluding Kaldur, began to move over to where Robin struggled to maintain a hold on Thomas.

They were so relieved that they finally had a hold on the child that no one noticed him open his jaws and clamp down his jaws on Robin's arm until Robin yelped.

"Ow! I'm definitely not feeling the aster!" he exclaimed, releasing the child. He had been trained to deal with being bitten before, but this was just unexpected. Plus, he noted, Thomas had rather sharp teeth.

Robin's cry snapped Kaldur out of his trance. His face suddenly had its no-nonsense expression.

"That is enough Thomas! WE. DO. NOT. BITE. OTHER. PEOPLE."

The room was silent. Thomas stood motionlessly in the middle, between Kaldur by the living area and the rest of the Team by the kitchen. He stared down Kaldur with his big bloodshot eyes.

A bead of sweat ran down the young Atlantean's temple.

 _What a strange child._

Then, without warning, Thomas screamed and it sounded as though his voice was slicing through the fabric of space- time.

To everyone's horror, he promptly threw himself on the floor and kicked and screamed.

The teens stared helplessly.

Kaldur's eyes widened. His own voice had surprised him. Had he ever even used that tone before? And look what he did, he made a destitute child upset!

 _Oh Poseidon, what have I done? I am the cause of this poor child's sadness..._

Connor's eyebrow twitched. _It's like I'm being stabbed in the ears!_

"Gah! Someone shut him up!" Connor covered his ears and yelled over the screaming tot on the floor.

M'Gann cautiously approached the child, in fear of being bitten like Robin.

"Hi, Thomas... don't cry, if you tell us what's wrong, maybe we can help you," she attempted to soothe him. Then,

"Hel _lo_ , Megan!" she tapped her head. "Why don't I read his mind?" She looked at her teamates for approval. Wally was spread out on the floor, weak from hunger. Artemis lay on the floor in fetal position. Connor sat in the corner holding his head. Kaldur had become catatonic again by the living area.

Only Robin gave her the nod for approval. "Just don't go too deep. Might spook him again."

Taking a deep breath, M'Gann knelt and looked into the child's eyes. Her stomach dropped at the sight of them. She didn't think she would ever get used to it.

Her eyes glowed green, and immediately Thomas went into a trance.


	4. Chapter 4: Crier

Chapter 4: Crier

MOUNT JUSTICE 11:08 EST

M'Gann and Thomas sat on the floor facing one another, their eyes glowing. The Team gathered around them in silence, but kept their distance at the same time.

In about a minute, they noticed M'Gann's eyes narrow slightly, and a few moments later her face contorted like she was struggling.

She furrowed her brow.

Suddenly, the Martian and child's eyes returned to normal, but she cried out and recoiled backwards.

"M'Gann!" Connor yelled. He rushed to her side.

The Team was even more confused when they saw that the tot appeared unphased by the whole thing.

Artemis had no problem with this. _Well, at least he's not screaming bloody murder anymore..._

"What happened?" inquired Robin.

M'Gann held her head and didn't answer. Then she began to weep.

Connor looked on, unsure of how to comfort his girlfriend.

"I-I can't... I just can't," choked the Martian girl, and she levitated away to her room rubbing at her teary eyes.

"Wait, M'Gann!" Connor ran out of the room after her.

The remaining member of the Team again stared at the child before them. He, of course, stared back.

"Sooo, what now?" asked Wally.

"Now we must prevent him from having another... tantrum," responded Kaldur.

"Agreed. I think I have hearing loss after that screeching," said Artemis.

Everyone's hearts dropped for the 20th time that day when they saw Thomas begin to cry again.

"Oh nonono," panicked Artemis. "Not again."

"My ears definitely _cannot_ take another round of screeching," said Wally.

"We must be vigilant and learn from our previous mistakes," said Kaldur.

"Alright Captain," said Robin. "What's the plan?"

"I will handle this."

Kaldur approached sobbing child on the floor and slowly picked him up. He held him close.

"He is disturbingly light..." said Kaldur.

"Is there any intel about his past? I'm getting the vibe that he was..." began Artemis.

"Abused? You would be correct," Robin said gravely.

The Team's faces fell, and Kaldur gave the child in his arms a bear hug.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Thomas."

Thomas, of course didn't seem to notice the apology. However, he did lay his head on the gilled teen's shoulder. Although the child's scrawny frame sickened him, he tried to make him feel secure.

Then Thomas verbalized for the first time that day, "Can you please put me down?"

Kaldur and the Team were a bit taken aback at the self-aware tone of his voice, but also happy that he was comfortable enough to speak now. Kaldur put him down.

Again, the Team and Thomas stood staring at each, a new understanding reached between them. Or so the Team thought.

It was all over before they knew it. The tot sprung into the air and delivered a single punch each to the members of the Team, knocking them all out instantly.


	5. Chapter 5: Violator

Chapter 5 : Violator

 **A/N: Sorry that I've been spelling it "Connor" instead of "Conner".**

MOUNT JUSTICE 12:00 EST

In M'Gann's quarters, Conner and M'Gann sat on her bed, looking deep into each other's eyes. The Martian girl had calmed down, but still refused to tell her boyfriend what she saw in the tot's mind.

"It's too terrible..." she had said, averting her eyes from his.

Conner initally felt that he wasn't good enough for her, and that she didn't think he was mentally strong enough to deal with whatever M'Gann had seen. But he tried to push it out of his mind.

Eventually, M'Gann suggested they go rejoin the Team.

"That silly Thomas might be giving them more trouble!" she said cheerfully.

Conner agreed.

On the way, M'Gann rambled on about her favorite Earth TV show, _Hello, Megan!_ and although Conner could not understand her love for it, he enjoyed seeing her happy again and did not complain.

He was soon lost in her beautiful voice and tried to savor the moment, just in case M'Gann became sad again and he would have to go without hearing her for an indefinite amount of time.

M'Gann and Conner didn't have very much time to process what they saw when they returned to the where they had left the rest of the Team. The alien couple was so preoccupied by the bodies of their friends littered on the earthen floor that they didn't even notice little Thomas creep up behind them.

The child knocked out M'Gann effortlessly, but Conner saw and immediately put up his guard.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. He calmed down a bit when he heard his friends strong heartbeats.

Still, he did not hold back now; the child was clearly up to something.

Thomas responded with a tiny bony fist to Conner's jaw.

 _I actually felt that._

Conner did not feel right hitting a scrawny child, so he tried to pin him down.

But Thomas' agility and small frame was too much for the muscular teen. He used the many articles of furniture in the room as well as appliances in the kitchen to propel himself closer to the teen. He peppered meelee attacks on Conner.

Conner found himself grabbing at air- he simply could not get a grasp on the child.

The teen was merely a plaything to the tot. Thomas ended it by delievering a final blow to the back of Conner's neck.

Conner's vision instantly faded to black and he fell beside his friends.

MOUNT JUSTICE 12:15 EST

 _Recognized. B06. Red Arrow._

As soon as he stepped into the Cave, the archer immediately sensed something was wrong.

He drew an arrow and looked around.

Bodies. Of his friends!

He was further confused by the small child sitting on top of one of his best friends, Wally.

Then he was disturbed by what the child was doing to his speedster buddy.

He blinked once, then twice, expecting the image his eyes saw to change. Of course, it didn't.

The child was really licking Wally's face.

He was really licking his nose, mouth, and eyes.

He was really inserting his tongue into his friend's nose.

"What... are you doing?" Red Arrow asked breathlessly.

Never mind who the child _was,_ just what the hell was he doing?

He hoped to God that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Perhaps that druggie had hit him too hard the other night? God, how he hoped so.

But another minute passed, and nothing changed.


	6. Chapter 6: Red Arrow Meets Thomas

Chapter 6: Red Arrow Meets Thomas

MOUNT JUSTICE 12:02 EST

Red Arrow finally came to his senses.

"Hey, stop that!" he yelled at the child.

When he didn't Red Arrow sprinted over. He pulled the child off his friend and knelt down. Glancing at his friend's face, he was relieved to see he was okay. Just a little slobbery. He and the rest of the Team were breathing.

Red Arrow turned his attention back to the mystery blond child.

"Who are you?" he demanded, narrowing his masked eyes. The child would not answer. Red Arrow paused, feeling ashamed that he used so harsh a tone with his kid.

 _He can't be more than three years old._

As a matter of fact, Red Arrow noticed, the child wouldn't even look at him, and his blond locks hid his eyes. Red Arrow lowered and bent his neck to get a look at his face.

What he saw made his breath catch in his throat. Dark circles under tired brown, bloodshot eyes. A thin, gaunt face with a frowning mouth.

 _Crap. Well, I already know I'm terrible with kids. Still, he's obviously not normal. Could be an infiltrator._

In the silence of the cave, he said softly, "Hey, sorry I yelled at you. My name is... John. Could you please tell me your name?"

No response. The child still would not acknowledge him.

Red Arrow knew not to take chances. Keeping an eye on the weird blond kid, he quickly dialed Batman and told him what was up.

"His name is Thomas and he was the perpetrator of the robberies in November-," Batman explained.

"This little kid hacked into Wayne Tech and S.T.A.R. Labs and stole terabytes of data and advanced bio-tech single-handedly?" Red Arrow cut him off, glancing at the child again in disbelief.

He was still sitting on the floor among the bodies of his friends, his head bowed.

"Please tell me this is a joke."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Batman did not like being cut off. "The Team was assigned the mission to keep him out of trouble while the League attended to other matters. We finished not long ago, and were on our way. Just keep him out of trouble. The others will wake up on their own."

"Uh, okay." To say Red Arrow was confused was an understatement.

Batman hung up.

Red Arrow sighed. He had called for answers and gotten more questions. At least he didn't kill the kid, as was his first instinct.

 _Stuck babysitting. Great. I guess I might as well try to get to know the kid..._


End file.
